Japanese reporter Kosuke Tsuneoka disappeared on April 1st of this year in Afghanistan, leaving no clues as to his whereabouts. Then, five months later, he tweeted that he was imprisoned but alive—by filching his captor's cellphone.

Tsuneoka was able to send the messages, above, when the grunt guarding his cell decided to show off—and as for instructions on how to use—his new Nokia N70. The soldier had never seen the internet before, and asked for Tsuneoka's help accessing it from his phone. The reporter obliged, also suggesting that the man might find Twitter useful as a means of finding other journalists. In between demos, Tsuneoka tweeted first his condition (alive, in jail) then, seven minutes later, his location (Kunduz district).

That Tsuneoka was released the next day seems to be a coincidence, possibly based more on his being a Muslim than any Twitter-related heroics. Still, the comfort he was able to give his friends and family after five months in the wilderness? I take back anything bad I ever said about you, Twitter. You're a mench. [PC World via Mashable]